U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS PRIORITIES FOR
CREATING DIFFERENTIATED TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL EVALUATIONS BASED ON STUDENT
OUTCOMES

WHEREAS, the overwhelming body of research now demonstrates
that the single most important school based factor for a childís academic
success is the effectiveness of their teacher; and

WHEREAS, research shows that an ineffective teacher
generates only half the learning of an effective teacher. Conversely, a highly
effective teacher generates 50 percent more learning than an average teacher
and as a result, children learn three times more in a highly effective
teacherís classroom than in an ineffective teacherís classroom; and

WHEREAS, students who had teachers that were
identified as effective (by their value-added scores, based on student test
performance and growth) are more likely to attend college, attend higher-ranked
colleges, earn higher salaries, and live in better neighborhoods, and had lower
rates of teen pregnancy; and

WHEREAS, improving the quality of administrators is
as significant as improving teacher effectiveness; and

WHEREAS, research shows that effective principals are
critical to school success as they are more likely to recruit, develop and
retain effective teachers compared to ineffective principals; and

WHEREAS, school leaders must therefore
be able to assess teacher performance accurately in order to develop and retain
an effective teaching corps that increases student achievement; and

WHEREAS, teacher evaluations that are meaningful and
inform teacher practice can lead to stronger accountability for school leaders,
who are in charge of developing successful schools and teachers; and

WHEREAS, currently most teacher and principal evaluation
systems are inadequate in providing regular, meaningful assessments of educator
impact in the classroom and school; and

WHEREAS, current evaluation systems do not prioritize
objective measures of student growth to be included in assessing teacher or
principal performance. This is grossly misaligned with teachersí and
principalsí primary responsibility to ensure student academic achievement. Only
twelve states now require that evidence of student learning is the major factor
in teacher evaluation, compared to 27 states that still do not require this to
be a factor at all; and

WHEREAS, thirty-four states currently do not require
more than two categories of effectiveness to assess teacher performance, even
though one study found that in districts that use binary evaluation ratings
(satisfactory vs. unsatisfactory), less than 1 percent of teachers were rated
unsatisfactory, resulting in a largely meaningless rating that neither
recognizes excellence or provides feedback to inform practice; and

WHEREAS, performance is often not a meaningful factor
in key personnel decisions. For example, in states that base layoff policies on
teacher seniority, studies show that more than 80 percent of these layoffs
would result in better teachers leaving classrooms and worse teachers staying;
and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has played a
longstanding national leadership role in improving the quality of education,
improving student academic excellence, and closing the achievement gap.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The U.S.
Conference of Mayors supports the comprehensive evaluation of educators using
student achievement growth as a major factor in order to ensure that schools
are able to identify, develop, retain, and reward the best teachers for every
child; and

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The U.S.
Conference of Mayors supports the following policy priorities for teacher and
principal evaluation systems:

Requiring meaningful principal evaluations that
are developed with input from principals and teachers, use multiple measures,
are conducted annually, and are grounded in school-wide objective measures of
student outcomes;

Requiring meaningful teacher evaluations that
are developed with input from teachers and principals, use multiple measures,
are conducted annually, rely on observations of teachersí professional practice
conducted by fully trained individuals, and are grounded in student outcomes;

Requiring a comprehensive principal evaluation
based on student growth and effective management of teachers, and with at least
4 rating tiers of effectiveness;

Requiring a comprehensive teacher evaluation
based at least 50 percent on objective measures of student outcomes; comprised
of multiple measures focused on student outcomes, including observations and
student evaluations; with at least 4 rating tiers of effectiveness; and
anchoring effectiveness on a year's worth of student growth;

Creating new ways to expand the reach of the
most effective teachers by collecting and analyzing evaluation data to
determine best practices for increasing student achievement and providing
leadership opportunities for the most effective educators;

Requiring that evaluations inform key personnel
decisions, such as hiring, tenure, and promotion, and exiting those who are not
serving students well from the system.